In early March, a study of over 1,000 CIOs and senior IT decision makers by Capgemini was concluded, and the results have just been published.

The data, researchers reveal, clearly demonstrates a “tangled web of applications” within international organizations is getting more and more complex, putting strain on the IT department and stunting digital transformation.

According to the study, over the last three years the number of IT decision makers who believe their business has more applications than it needs has increased from just over a third to nearly half.

Just 37 percent believe the majority of their applications are mission-critical. Nearly three quarters (73 percent) believe that at least one-fifth of their current applications share similar functionality and should be consolidated, and 57 percent believe that at least a fifth of their applications should be retired or replaced.

This isn’t just an IT problem, it’s a business problem, the report summary continues.

The study revealed that 60 per cent of senior IT decision makers believe their departments’ most valuable contribution to the company is introducing new technologies. Indeed, a significant number have already implemented Cloud (56 percent), mobility (54 percent), social (41 percent) and Big Data (34 per cent) solutions. However, without a modernized applications landscape, IT lacks the bandwidth to deliver competitive advantage through these technologies.

“Little wonder 76 percent believe rationalization is important to realizing their company’s objectives,” the summary concludes.